2005 Detroit Tigers

In 2003, the Detroit Tigers were one of the most talked-about teams in the Major Leagues, but for all the wrong reasons. They set an American League record for losses with 119, and no one expected much improvement for 2004. The Tigers punched up their lineup by acquiring catcher Ivan Rodriguez, though, and a number of other moves gave the Tigers respectability last season, when they won 72 games. While they still may not make the .500 mark in 2005, they have added outfielder Magglio Ordóñez to their roster, and the organization is serious about contending. We can praise Tiger fans for their faithfulness, as tickets to games still sold well in the dark hours of 2003. Now, it's time to begin rewarding their loyalty.

The Detroit Tigers are one of the oldest teams in all of Major League Baseball. Since their inception as a charter team in the American League, the Detroit Tigers have had a storied tradition. They have had many Hall-of-Fame players in their history, including the great Al Kaline, Hank Greenberg and Ty Cobb. They have won multiple championships in their history, including their most recent in 1984, under manager Sparky Anderson. That team was led by outfielder Kirk Gibson and steady middle infielders Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammel. The Tigers showed great consistency in the 1980s and had one of the best win-loss records overall for the decade.

The team now plays in the American League Central Division, against such rivals as the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox, and the Kansas City Royals. The current team is managed by the aforementioned Alan Trammel. Trammel is a first-time manager, but he hopes to instill the fiery spirit he played with in the current group of Detroit Tigers. This group is young and looking to continue improvement under Trammel's guidance. The team is led by hard-hitting outfielders Dmitri Young and Bobby Higginson, as well as veteran infielder Fernando Viña.

The Tigers had played in legendary Tiger Stadium since early in the 1900s, but in 2000 they moved into their brand-new stadium, Comerica Park. Comerica Park is best known for its cavernous outfield that makes games at Comerica Park exciting because of the number of doubles and triples that can be hit there. Comerica also has a Ferris wheel, a mammoth water feature in center field that can be choreographed to any music, and a decade-by-decade pedestrian museum enveloping the main concourse. There are no outfield upper deck seats, which provides people with tickets to Tigers games a beautiful view of downtown Detroit.

Now that the team has reached the absolute bottom of its decline and has begun a steady climb back to respectability, the Detroit Tigers should be a competitive team in the future, playing exciting baseball at Comerica Park.